Dear Mayor and Council Members,
On behalf of City Manager Ed Shikada, please see staff responses below for questions from Mayor Lauing and Council Member Lu on the June 16, 2025 and June 17, 2025 City Council Meeting.
Monday June 16, 2025 Council Meeting
Item 9. Approval of a Surveillance Use Policy for Security Cameras at Ada's Café at Mitchell Park Community Center and Library; CEQA Status - Not a Project
1. Have we considered expanding this policy to any private entity that leases city space? Or creating a director's approval process that allows this? Staff response: Surveillance use policies are required in situations enumerated by PAMC section 2.30.630. This includes approval of a use policy when approving "agreements with a non-City entity to acquire, share, or otherwise use surveillance technology or the information it provides." See PAMC 2.30.630(d). Once approved, the City is required to produce an annual report analyzing the use of each Council- approved technology, including its cost, any complaints received, and the number and nature of Public Record Act requests received. See PAMC 2.30.680(a). If the City wanted to consider allowing staff-level approvals of some or all surveillance use policies, the City Council could adopt an ordinance amending the Surveillance and Privacy Protection Ordinance at PAMC section 2.30.620 et seq. to allow that.
Staff is considering expanding this policy to the Palo Alto History Museum at the Roth Building, as cameras were installed during renovation of the building. A director approval process is not in place, but will be considered.
Item 12. Approval of a Director’s Interpretation Pursuant to PAMC Section 18.01.025 Concluding That Noncomplying Residential Gross Floor Area may not be Relocated Within a Structure; Denial of the Associated Appeal; Direction to Prepare a Future Code Amendment for Administrative De Minimis Exceptions to the Zoning Code; CEQA: Exempt Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3)
1. A Councilmember questioned why a formal text amendment was not being initiated now to address the minor adjustments recommended by staff in the council report. This approach could avoid setting an unclear precedent and ultimately resolve the applicant’s issue. The Councilmember suggests rescheduling the item once the staff recommended amendment is ready.
JUNE 17, 2025JUNE 16, 2025
Staff Response: Preparing the amendment is not currently part of the department’s workplan. If Council authorizes and prioritizes it, the ordinance could affect the timeline of other Council-directed efforts. While staff supports moving forward, the intent was to schedule it in a way that minimizes disrupting existing priorities, specifically related to bird safe glass and stream corridor protections. It typically takes 4–6 months to prepare an ordinance, which requires Planning & Transportation Commission and Council review.
Alternatively, the appellant could submit their own text amendment application.
This would not draw on policy planning resources but would require fees and still be resourced after processing housing development projects, though potentially faster overall.
Regardless of the amendment, the decision to pull the item should focus on whether the interpretation was properly issued. If councilmembers believe it was not, the item should be removed from consent and set for hearing, anticipated for mid-August or early September; removing the item from consent would also delay any Council direction on a text amendment. If councilmembers find that the Director’s interpretation is correct, staff recommend approving the item on consent, which would also provide direction now regarding the text amendment.
Item 17. Approval of Contract Amendment No. 4 to Contract Number C19171363 with Professional Account Management LLC, dba Duncan Solutions, to Extend the Contract for one year to June 30, 2026, and to Adjust Billing Rates, Without an Increase to Compensation, for a Not –to Exceed Amount of $767,000 for Parking Permitting and Citation Management Services; CEQA Status -- Not a Project.
1. Are there any more resources about how Duncan currently operates? Are there any areas or practices they use to prioritize where to look? (I understand they use automated license plate readers)
Staff response: Duncan provides permit and citation management services, providing a website and personal staffing to permit purchases, primarily for RPP programs (all six) and to the California Ave. business district employee program.
They also provide Citation processing services. Parking enforcement is provided by a different contractor.
2. Are there any metrics about traffic citations by year for the last 10 years? Staff response: Given Duncan’s limited role in RPP permit and parking citation processing, this information is not readily available for parking and traffic citations overall. Staff will review available information and transmit to the City Council at a later date.
Tuesday, June 17, 2025 Council Meeting
Item 14: Approval of Professional Services Contract No. C26193874 with Palo Alto Community Child Care in an Amount Not-to-Exceed $3,228,146 to Provide Management of the City’s Childcare Subsidy Program for a Term of Five Years. CEQA Status – Not A Project
1. To be clear, this is only for the administration of the subsidy, and there is no actual subsidy or childcare included in this funding, right? Staff response: The Fiscal Year funding allocated for this contract totals $606,793.73. Of this amount, approximately 10% ($58,565) supports the administration of the City’s Child Care Subsidy Program, while the remaining 90% ($538,138) is directed toward providing childcare subsidies for low-income families.
This funding supports access to childcare services for up to 45 children annually.